Weekend Warrior
by Philosopher
Summary: Tonks had been missing for 5 days before turning up at Grimmauld Place battered and out of her mind. Now Harry must unravel the mystery of her disappearance while eluding an unknown enemy.
1. Sleepless

Harry was wracked with a worry that had him waking up every two hours. Presently it was 5:17 on a Monday morning in a gray room that he haunted with his vigil.

Ron was in the next bed sound asleep but almost fully clothed. His legs were still hanging off the side and he looked as though he had just flopped down from exhaustion. Harry figured that he himself probably looked worse for wear.

But it wasn't Voldemort who had everyone at Grimmauld Place in such a fretful state this seemingly endless night. It was Nyphadora Tonks, or rather the lack there of. She had gone missing five days ago.

Shacklebolt was leaving him out of the loop. All he could do was reassure Harry that it was Ministry business which had nothing to do with Voldemort. _"It's not fair."_ He thought.

Harry rubbed his face and decided it was no use trying to sleep again so he got out of bed and pulled on an undershirt. _"Maybe I can just walk around the yard and watch the sun come up."_

He was very much aware of his feelings for Tonks. Until now he was able to enjoy the infatuation for what it was. It wasn't complicated. It wasn't the passionate epic of our time. It was a boy admiring a woman who was smart and skilled but easy to know. Harry didn't mind that it made him look like a young pup following her around. On the contrary, it was nice. For once he was just a boy. Just a boy with a crush.

Tonight he was back to being a world weary old man with far too much guilt on his narrow shoulders. After all he's seen and done he couldn't just go to bed and let 'the folks' worry about it. He wanted to be out there with the search party.

He knew it couldn't be easy, even for the most highly trained aurors, to be searching for a shape-shifter. _"Umm she might have brown or blue eyes with short blonde hair that could have also been long and black, oh or red. Anyway have you seen her?"_ The situation was beginning to seem hopeless.

Harry padded down the stairs in a pair of flannel pajama bottoms and made his way to the fridge. Reflexively, he looked around to be sure Mrs. Weasley wasn't looking before drinking milk straight from the bottle. With the bottle still in hand He rummaged through the pantry for a quick bite.

That's when he heard someone come in slowly through the back door. The anti-intruder charms were in place. _"Must be Lupin or Moody coming back from their shift."_ The footsteps, which were keeping a quick-slow rhythm, shuffled around in the next room then proceeded to come down a short hall leading to the kitchen. A bloody, scorched, and soot ridden figure stood swaying in the doorway.

For a moment Harry didn't even recognize this form as being the normal image of Tonks. There were cuts and bruises all over her face and her clothing was torn in various places giving glimpses of yet more cuts and bruises. Strips of her cloak were used as a makeshift sling for her left arm as well as bandages for her head, ribs, and leg.

She appeared to be disorientated and didn't seem to notice him there as she limped over to the fridge. "Tonks?" He stepped closer. She froze for a moment then looked in his general direction through the corner of her half lidded eyes.

"Harry?" He could see now that her eyes were not only half lidded but puffy and blood shot as well. A sly smile tugged at her lips and her eyes went back to gazing aimlessly. "You're not, Harry." She said as if she knew better and wouldn't be fooled. "You..." Tonks pointed a wavering finger at him and spoke in a slow slurred manner. "...are – a dragon."

"Tonks, where have you been? What's-What's happened to you?" There was no point in asking a dumb question like, _"Are you okay?"_ when she very obviously was not.

Tonks turned slowly on her heal to face him. Doing so she tilted back and stumbled a little but didn't fall. "I um..." She closed her eyes and cocked her head. When she answered her speach was slow and halting. "You know that - trick where you - you toss a uh a piece of popcorn – in the air and you – you catch it - in your mouth?"

"What?"

"Yeah. Shouldn't practice that with bricks, turns out." She chortled at her own joke then opened the freezer and grabbed a bag of vegetables to put on her head.

"Tonks," He made a move to grab her by the arm, "You should just get some sleep now..."

"SLEEP?!" She whipped the frozen bag right into his face. "Oh you'd like that wouldn't you? If you think I'm sleeping, just forget it! If _that's_ what you're counting, forget it! _I'M_ not sleeping." Her arm began to flail about and she didn't seem to be addressing Harry any more. "I'm stronger than you! I'm stronger and better then _any_ of you! You can't wear _me_ down." She started thumping her finger on her chest "I am Nymphadora Tonks, daughter of Andromeda and Ted Tonks, and I don't sleep. I don't need to eat either. I can go at this for days."

Harry tried again to still her. His sudden aggressive movement was a mistake. She pulled out a dagger-like flint stone from under her blue denim jacket. "Just back off! Leave me alone!"

"Whoa! Whoa!" Harry put up the palms of his hands in what he hoped was a disarming gesture. "Alright. It's alright."

"No. No. No." She said in a more passive tone. "I can't believe that. I shouldn't. I can't. No it's not alright is it?" She leaned her back against the kitchen isle and began to slide down all the while rubbing her head with the fist that was holding the dagger. Suddenly she jumped up again and started pacing. "I have to keep moving, keep... alert, keep... keep fighting."

"Who, Tonks? Who are you fighting?" She put back the dagger and braced her arm against the isle with her head hanging so low between her shoulders she might have passed for Nearly Headless Nick.

"The world, Harry. Did you know the world is one big dragon just stalking you, waiting?"

There was a moment of silence when Harry didn't know what to try next. He had to get her to lie down. Had he been thinking clearly he would have thought to call Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and the rest of the search team. They had been sleeping in shifts down at the Ministry. Harry, Hermione, Ron, and the twins had been ordered to stay behind incase she showed up here but he knew that was only an excuse to keep them safe and out of the way.

"Harry," Her elbow collapsed and folded flat on the cutting board with her head on top. "Would you please get me - a glass of water?" He quickly did as he was asked. Hardly moving from her position she took the glass and lifted her head slightly to peer into it. "Is it good?" She asked with a skeptical pout.

"Yes it's very... cool and very... good." He wasn't sure what she typically looked for in a glass of water.

"It's not moving."

"No. I suppose it's not." _Not moving? Is that a wizarding thing?_ "I could run the tap." He offered

"That would be good. Thanks." Harry wasn't sure why but he turned on the tap as promised. "Always look for running water." Tonks explained as she got up and went for the sink. Then she proceeded to cup her hands under the water and drink from them wantonly. She splashed some water on her face and neck before sticking her whole head under the faucet. "Oh that's better. _Much_ better. AAhhhh Ohh. Harry, you won't believe how my weekend's been."

Not wanting to upset her again, Harry listened to her tale as he tried casually moving her to the living room where there was a nice soft couch.

(A/N: Show of hands, kids, who would like to hear the incredible tale Tonks has for us?)


	2. What Happened?

Tonks' previous outburst didn't seem to wake anyone. Everyone was used to the early morning screeching of Mrs. Black and paid no mind.

"Sit down, please. Rest." Harry was careful not to use the "S" word fearing that she might go berserk again. A frozen bag in the face is not an experience he wanted to repeat. He sat on the couch hoping she would join him.

"Well that's very kind of you. You are one of the better dragons, but I really can't stay." Tonks had followed him to the living room but choose to lean on the doorway when asked to sit. "I have to get back home. Back to Grimmauld Place. They'll all be very cross with me by now. It was my turn for laundry yesterday. Missed dish washing day as well. Don't think they'll mind as much about the dishes. I always break 'em. Harry will do it."

Harry looked down at his hands. He had, in fact, covered for her chores while she was gone. Tonks allowed another weary smile to touch her lips. "He'll do it before Molly has a chance to notice and take over. Poor kid." The smile left her face and Harry's head came back up. "He wants to help, always. Doesn't want to be a burden."

"Look why don't you just sit down at least and stop being stubborn." His voice suddenly had an unkind edge to it. Being called 'Poor kid' didn't sit well with him. In fact facing her pity stung as much as the frozen bag. However, Harry, having grown up with the Dursley's, had an amazing capacity for patience.

"Sit. Sit. Sit. Sit. I'm a dog now? I'm the human here, dragon."

"I am _not_ a dragon." His tone was becoming irate.

"Yes you are." She said annoyed but softly at first. "Don't TELL me your not! You're not fooling anyone."

He stood quickly. "Why would I..." Harry stopped himself, took a deep breath, and crossed over to her. She was staring off into nothing.

"Tonks, look at me please."

She said nothing and did nothing except furrow her eyebrows. He took that as conformation that she was listening but he wanted to get a good look at her eyes. Since Tonks wasn't cooperating he had to lean his head into her view.

The room was dark. He waved a hand over the lamp beside her on an entrance table and it came to life. His whole face contorted as though he'd bit into a lemon. After his eyes adjusted he saw that her pupils had contracted as well. Good. He suspected, or rather feared, that they wouldn't.

"Right then." Harry decided to try a new approach. "What sort of a dragon am I?"

"Ah well." Tonks finally brightened up a bit and trained her attention on him. "Charlie's the expert but I know a thing about it mu'self." She had a battered nose and the more she spoke the more Tonks sounded like she had a cold.

"Ya height and build puts you in medius vegrandis class." She said looking him over. "Fairly common size in du nordern wilderness. And goin' on du black tipped beak,..." She had to pause and breifly pinch the bridge of her nose. "...red spots on the back, broad hind paws, attached arm/wings... yeah. I'd say,... garden variety mutt."

Harry wasn't sure if he should take that personally. Satisfied with her assessment Tonks bowed her head and pinched her nose again. "Mutt." He repeated.

"Well you're no show dragon. Sorry to say. Never cared much for pure breeds mu'self. You," She patted his head. "are a working class beastie. I'd say closer to an Irish Black Hook then a Spotted Spine Spaniard. Good and loyal they are. Always wanted one as a girl. Knew a man, had a bleedin' lot o' Spotted Spines though. He ran a business on the docks, see. 'Er good for that sort of work; strong, right size. Bloody hard du dame dough."

_"Must be the dragon counter part of a typical wolf-dog."_ Harry thought.

"Tonks, look I can fix your nose I think. I mean I'm no Madam Pomfrey but there's a first aid wand upstairs." He started to _gently_ tug on her sleeve to steer her around to the stairs.

"No, Harry." She was whispering as loud and harsh as anyone could and still call it a whisper. "Have you gone completely nutter?" She had grabbed and jerked his elbow without any of the care as he had used. "No wands. No magic. They can feel it. They'll have our position faster than you can say 'Awe Sh-'. Then you're dead cause you can't say it fast enough."

"Shh. Alright calm down. I won't do anything." Harry suddenly realized that she had called him by his name. "Who's they?"

"Whose-wh-who what?"

"You said they can feel it. Who are you talking about? Who is they?" He had grabbed her arm again without thinking about it. Thankfully she hadn't noticed as her attention began to slip again.

"They?" She turned her head to the side and let her eyes inspect the room. "They is. Well."

She turned to the other side and stared. Harry was losing his patience. Just then her head flicked back dead center. Though her eyes were on his chest she seemed to be gazing off into her own memory. "Brazilian Banshee Bat."

"Brazilian Banshee Bat." He sighed slowly, thinking she was speaking gibberish.

"Rare. Very rare. They find you when you sleep." Harry perked up. "Or use magic. Like blood hounds, you know. Love ta hunt. Don't give up." Tonks bounced a finger on his chest with each word as she said. "They-never-give-up."

Puffing out her chest and standing a bit taller she went on. "Bit like Nyphadora Tonks in that respect. And I told them that. Said they'd have to try a bit harder. What was it you called me? Stubborn? Well you're damn right. See you beasties know all 'bout surviving the wild, see. Right. Think you've got an edge out here. Well you ain't got nothin' on a stubborn woman! You inferior beings have no concept of pride. _I'm_ not gonna die! I'm not gonna die until I've fixed everything. See, I screwed up!" She drifted out of his grip and wandered away. "My fault and I'll be the one to fix it."

"I screwed up." Tonks huffed softer as her shoulders fell deflated. It looked as though those three words were a needle that punctured her ego. "My big chance to prove something. I'd been waiting for that." She slapped a hand on her head. "I guess I never figured that 'something' was incompetence and I was proving it to myself. It was merely an affirmation to everyone else."

"Stop it! Don't say that." Harry was a bit shocked at his out burst. He was even more shocked at how deeply her sudden vulnerability upset him. "You are not incompetent. No one thinks you are."

"Right." She chuckled. "Only thing worse than being pitied is getting an invitation to someone else's pity party. Ya fall down. Ya cry." She started pacing around. "Ya get up. Ya walk it off." She was walking it off, and at times even jumping, all over the place.

"What's your fault? I mean what happened."

"I'd rather not talk about it. What's the point in rehashing that? Anyway, we've got to start moving again. Keep going. Just keep going. Don't think. Thinking makes you think about food." She held up and shook a finger as if this were a pearl of wisdom.

"Tonks. Tonks." He was following her through the rooms catching everything she'd tipped over, including herself. They ended up back in the living room. "Tonks!"

"Yes, Harry. No need to shout. What is it?" Tonks, who had been walking across the couch, flopped down on the back rest.

"Well I'd just like to know why you disappeared." She was sliding down to a proper sitting position.

"Ask Shacklebolt. He was there."

Harry just stared at the woman before him for a good long time. His thoughts were like options on a spinning wheel of emotions. Where it would land no one knows. He knew Shacklebolt was holding back but Harry didn't realize that the older man was actually there when it happened, whatever _it_ was.

"He was there?"

"Sure. Course he was. He's my partner. We were on a bust."

Shacklebolt was an experienced auror who knew what he was doing. He didn't have to justify himself to someone still in school. And Harry still had no clue what happened, where, why, or how. Still... He wanted to wring the mans neck. He was _right there_! How can a person go missing right in front you? Harry was rubbing his eyes, trying to understand this.

What was really bothering him was that he clearly remembered Day 1, the day she disappeared. Shacklebolt had stopped by asking for her. Fred told him that everyone assumed she was still at work. The auror brushed it off by implying that she'd meet up with a friend for drinks. Day 2. He did the same. This time saying that she'd probably spent the night elsewhere.

_"We all could have been looking for her by then if he had told us the truth."_ Harry thought bitterly.

"If you want to you can see for yourself." Tonks interrupted his thoughts. He dropped his hand. By now she was sitting on the couch and nearly nodding off.

"What?"

"I've kept a journal."

Harry looked down to find a small book and quill that she had pulled from her pocket moments before falling asleep.


	3. Just Read It Already!

(A/N: Hey folks, I just re-read Chapter 2 and realized that it's a confusing mess. No one ever said that writing at 4 in the morning guaranties that one writes well. Check out my fan art on my homepage.)

_"A journal! brilliant!"_ Harry thought. _"This will tell me something about how she'd gone missing and where she's been."_ He looked down at the sleeping form of Nymphadora Tonks. _"Got to do something. Get her some help."_

He didn't know the extent of her injuries or why she was acting that way. Her pupils weren't dilated so she wasn't drugged but Tonks was obviously having some delusions about dragons and surviving in the wilderness. Those cuts and bruises were pretty bad. Some looked a few days old but they could be treated with a first aid wand. But he wouldn't know what to do if there were internal injuries or broken bones. _"Mrs. Weasley would know. MRS. WEASLEY! The others! Bugger. I haven't even contacted them at the Ministry yet."_ Harry jumped up and raced to the fireplace.

"I'm sorry, who did you say you needed to contact?" A receptionist witch was speaking to him from the flames

"Shacklebolt. Kingsley Shacklebolt."

"Just a moment."

"No please don't put me on hold again!" She put him on hold. Harry looked back to keep an eye on Tonks.

"Are you still there, Sir?"

"Yes."

"I am sorry, Sir. I can neither confirm nor deny that we have a Kingsley Shacklebolt employed at this department."

"What?!"

"Unless of course you have the pass..."

"possom2009."

"Pardon me."

"That's the password they left me, possom2009."

"I'm sorry, Sir, you have used an outdated password." She was about to disconnect.

"No. No. Wait please. It's an emergency."

"What kind of an emergency, Sir."

"I-I don't know. The kind that's very uh... emergent. Look what do you want from me? I've got a woman on my couch and she's not doing well." Harry knew he wasn't making sense but he couldn't help it. He began to vigorously tussle his messy head of hair. Then he realized what time it was.

"Shift change." He said. "You've just had a shift change haven't you? That's why the password is outdated. Hang on. I'll just be a moment."

He scurried off to the kitchen and came back with a piece of paper. "Let's see." He read. "CassTheCurious, Me222, Thor Nairda, Honks, Makotochi, Uten..." The woman waited patiently as he mumbled through a list of yesterday's passwords "...Hippy Gypsy, BeOt. Here it is!" He finally proclaimed. "Mel49."

"Password confirmed."

Harry heaved a sigh. "Thank you. Now may I please speak to Kingsley Shacklebolt?" He pleaded through gritted teeth.

"One more moment please."

"No don't..." She disappeared. "...put me on hold."

Harry's palms were sweaty. He was pacing around and fidgeting with the paper in his hand. With two long strides he had crossed the room and was now kneeling beside Tonks. Her spiky pink hair was evenly cut all around except for the bangs which were slightly longer and fell over her eyes. He gently brushed them aside and let his hand rest on her cheek.

She was warm. Not burning up but still not good. Her skin was clammy. He could see that she was already having rapid eye movement in her sleep. That meant she was dreaming and, judging from the twitching in her eyebrows and on the corner of her mouth, it wasn't a pleasant dream. He looked again at the journal and contemplated reading it for a moment.

"Sir, are you there."

"Yeah. Yes. Yes, Ma'am. I-I'm right here." Harry had jumped up and was back at the fireplace.

"I'm affraid Mr. Shacklebolt is still out on assignment."

"What about the others, Mr. Weasley, Moody, Lupin? They can't all be out on the search at the same time."

"Well those that haven't been searching have just left. You'll have to wait for the others to come in."

Harry looked again at the journal. "Look will you just..." He calmed down and licked his lips. "Will you please let them know that they can call off the search? Tonks is here. She's a little banged up... well a lot actually but I don't think there's anything seriously wrong with her."

"I'll do that, Sir."

"Thank you. Oh wait can you..." Again the woman was gone. "...send someone over now?" He gave up and left to fetch a first aid wand and a wet cloth. "Shouldn't be long now anyway." He mumbled.

After Harry had cleaned and dressed her wounds a bit he checked for broken bones. Then he felt her head for bumps and found two whoppers. One, he could see, had bleed but was already scabbed over. He wrapped her in a blanket, elevated her legs, and put a rolled towel under her neck. Harry had decided against waking the others for now. They couldn't do anything more than he already had.

_"What's taking them so long to get back?"_ He thought.

Again he saw the journal. This time he picked it up an opened it. The pages were blank. Harry took the quill, which was

charmed so that it never needed to be dipped, and wrote the following; "Just what the hell happened to you, Tonks?"

Letters appeared in her handwriting. "Wotcher, Harry!"

He couldn't help a little smile that bubbled up inside him. "That's a fine 'how-do-you-do' ay. Won't ask how my day's been, how are you, nice weather. Just 'what the hell happened to you'."

"Sorry, Tonks, but you're in a bad state right now and I need to know what's happened so I can help."

"Awe that's right nice of you, Harry. Thank you but I'll be alright. You'll see."

"Still..."

"Ha. Curious aren't you? That's cute by the way. You know the way you write in that little 'dot dot dot' thing. Look what I can write -) Cute huh? "

" "Tonks." He said losing his patience. " Harry actually wrote that narrative.

"Alright. I don't suppose I should be doing this but, dot dot dot, have a look." Harry was suddenly swept into a memory that was not his own. It was a memory from five days ago. The morning before she had gone missing.

(A/N: Short chapter. I'm not used to long distance writing. I'm more of a literary sprinter. Go ahead and flame away. Any review is a good review. I actually get a little kick out of the flames. One flame prompted me to write a whole chapter of "Nothing Sacred". It's a funny Honks fic (Harry/Tonks). Go read it. Next chapter will be longer and updated sooner. Cross my heart.:-)

(A/N: You know what's really annoying?! When you stay up all night writing somethin only to have special characters and hyper links stripped from the text when you post. My little smilely face joke was ruined!)


	4. Ouch

(A/N: Harry's thoughts will be in italics.)

Harry found himself back in his own room at Grimauld Place. The first signs of morning light from a window were just beginning to fill the every corner. He looked around and found Ron and himself sound asleep in their respective beds.

_"Why would Tonks have a memory of this?" _He wondered.

The door knob began to turn. Creeek. Someone was trying to push open the door as mutely as possible. He couldn't see who it was until a spot of pink hair crept in. She moved painfully slow but eventually managed to slip in all the way.

Tonks tip-toed to edge of the beds with both hands held up against her chest, making her to look like a squirrel in slow motion. She craned her neck as though she were peeking over a hedge into the neighbor's yard, then fell back on her heals with a slight huff. She appeared to be disappointed to find them still asleep. After a quick survey of the room, Tonks set about searching for something. Harry noticed now that she was wearing her Auror's robes.

Once in a while she would stop her search and check to see that they were still sleeping, which made her look all the more like a foraging squirrel. It was while she was looking back at them over her shoulder that she stepped forward. Looking back while going forward is never a good combination. Especially if your name happens to be Nymphadora Tonks.

"Umph!" She grunted before tipping forward and tumbling head over heals on an ottoman. Bang! Her foot hit a book shelf on the way down. The books crashed into a pedestal that supported a bust...

Crash!

...which came down on a desk...

Thump.

...rolled over the edge and whacked a swivel chair...

Whack

...that went sailing into a wall...

Swish. Slam.

...which had crossed swords and a shield on it...

Crash.

...which hit a broom, that hit a vase, that eventually found the top of her head like a bulls eye.

"Ah-how-ch!" She said, clutching the boo-boo.

For a moment, the sleeping Harry's head shot up and saw the damage. Then it hit the pillow again. "Morning, Tonks." He said half asleep. Harry, the one watching, wondered when he had become such a heavy sleeper. Ron was no better. He just snorted and rolled over.

"Did I wake you?" She asked still wincing from the pain. There was no answer. "Harry?"

_"Seamus wasn't kidding when he said I could sleep through a hurricane."_

Harry turned his attention back to Tonks as she pulled herself up and began straightening out the wreckage behind her. "Haven't seen my wand have you?" She turned back around and gawked at what she saw. "Cor blimey." Her face paled.

Harry followed her gaze which landed on his near-naked sleeping counter part, who must have kicked off the covers and rolled on to his stomach. He was mortified and tried dumbly to block her view. Too bad he was less than a shadow to her. Besides, all this had already happened days ago. She didn't look away for what seemed to Harry like an eternity. It couldn't have been more than a few seconds.

"Tonks!" He screamed through gritted teeth. Finally she snapped out of it and looked down then back at the pedestal in her hand. She puffed out her checks with a look that said, "Whoa!" then shook her head.

"Take mine." Harry heard his own deep groggy voice behind him.

"What?" She was caught off guard.

"z'on nuh table." Both Harry and Tonks needed a moment to figure out what the other Harry mumbled into his pillow. They looked at the table and saw his wand lying there.

_"I don't remember any of this."_ He thought. To the best of his knowledge he still had his own wand in the days she had been missing.

"Thanks." Tonks whimpered, snatching up the wand, then promptly rushed out of the room.

Harry just stood there thinking, _"When the hell did this happen?"_ Before he knew it he was swept away in flash of light. Now he was down stairs in the kitchen. Mrs. Weasley was preparing breakfast while Mr. Weasley was milling around with a piece of toast in one hand and important looking files in the other. Tonks walked in.

"Was that you, dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"How'd you guess?" Tonks replied with a weak lopsided grin. She was still rubbing her head gently. Mrs. Weasley looked up from her pots and pans.

"Goodness! You didn't hurt yourself did you?"

"Ah." She dismissed the thought. "I'm alright. Just a little... phased." Only Tonks and Harry knew that she wasn't talking about the bump on her head. Mrs. Weasley thought nothing of it and went back her task.

"Fit for duty ay?" Mr. Weasley said handing Tonks the file. "Or if you'd like you can just sit this one out." He began to tug it out of her hand again jokingly.

"No! No!" Tonks dropped the hand that was nursing her owchie so that she could clamp down on the file. "I can do it really." She had taken his mock threat quite seriously.

_"Do what?"_ Harry thought

"Oh, Arthur, will you stop teasing... Ah! Tonks, how many times must I tell you not to morph like that when I'm not looking?"

"Sorry, Molly." The metamorph was now in the guise of a shifty looking brown haired man in his forties. Turning her attention back to Mr. Weasley she said, "I can do it see."

"Yes I _see_ but _hearing_ is another thing." He was right. Her voice was unmistakably feminine.

"I won't have to say much. Just grunt."

"Oh really?"

"Urgh." She grunted while nodding then snatched his toast and took a rough bite. "Toast good. Urgh."

"Lets discuss this when we get to the Ministry. And morph back will you, before anyone else sees."

"Sorry."

Another flash of light and Harry was in a hall at the Ministry of Magic. _"Now we're getting somewhere."_ Tonks was coming out of the little witches room when Kingsley Shacklebolt and Mr. Weasley came through a pair of double doors at the other end and were walking this way.__

"She's not ready." Arthur was saying. Tonks had apparently heard this because she froze and withdrew back into the washroom.

"Then when will she be ready?" Shacklebolt replied. "When all the boogie men are dead and the world is a safe and happy place again?" The red-haired man looked away and huffed at the other man's sarcasm. "She's an auror, Arthur."

"I know that, Kingsley."

"Just like any other."

"I know."

"Do you?" Mr. Weasley stopped just after passing through Harry.

"It would be a difficult assignment for _any other_ auror."

"She's the only one who can do the job."

"Couldn't you have made a polyjuice potion?"

"Come on, you know we didn't have time for that. Besides that's not what I meant. Even if we had a department full of metamorphs I would give her this assignment without a second thought."

From his point of view, Harry could see the shadow of Nymphadora Tonks spying from behind the door. No doubt she could see the openly skeptical look on her old friends face.

"Alright, Kingsley." Arthur folded his hands before him and spoke formally. "The Ministry has ordered me to turn the case over to your department in spite of the muggle element involved. I trust their judgment as well as yours. And I trust I don't need to remind you of the importance of this mission. Stay close to her at all times just in case well... she _is_ a bit clumsy. I know she doesn't mean to be. She just can't help it. And remember Tonks is rather impulsive. If there's trouble she'll go charging in without..."

"Thinking?"

"Backup." He started walking away but Kingsley couldn't leave well enough alone. He wanted to get in one last shot.

"Oh, Arthur?" Weasley turned around. "How old was Charlie when you finally let the poor lad take the twelve kilos of safety gear off his broom? Twelve? Thirteen?"

"Don't exaggerate." He started to walk off again but mumbling added, "It was nine kilos and he was eleven."

When the coast was clear Tonks emerged. She looked hurt and a little angry. Harry walked up and stood as close to her as he wanted. It's not like she would mind the invasion of personal space. Only this close could he see a stubborn tear fighting as hard to get out as she was fighting to keep it down. He understood her perfectly. She felt betrayed. Mr. Weasley made it sound like she couldn't tie her own shoe laces. That's gotta sting.

_"Frozen bag in the face."_

In a final flash of light Harry was once again sitting on the couch at Grimmauld Place. This time it was, well, _this time_. He marked the page and closed the book. There was more of course but he came back just for a minute. Glancing down at his side he saw a discarded blanket and a slight dent in the cushions where Tonks had been.

"Tonks?" He looked around. "Tonks?" He ran to the kitchen. "Tonks!" Then the yard. No sign of her.

"Oops."

(A/N: Am I the only one who perceives Tonks as being playful in the books? In every fan fiction I've read she's always so serious. I guess that's why I like the Honks pairing. She's older but acts younger and he's younger but acts older.

Mr. Weasley is a little OOC. He's not usually so cautious but this mission is a big deal. As for the Charlie thing, what parent doesn't want to keep the training wheels on forever?

How's my British slang coming along? In my other fic I came close to calling the television a "boob tube" without realizing that it meant "tube top" in the UK. That would have taken on a whole new meaning. "My salvation came in the form of the boob tube." Ha ha ha!)


	5. Recruiting Conspirators

Remember, Harry's thoughts in italics.

Previously on "Weekend Warrior"

In a final flash of light Harry was once again sitting on the couch at Grimmauld Place. This time it was, well, _this time_. He marked the page and closed the book. There was more of course but he came back just for a minute. Glancing down at his side he saw a discarded blanket and a slight dent in the cushions where Tonks had been.

"Tonks?" He looked around. "Tonks?" He ran to the kitchen. "Tonks!" Then the yard. No sign of her.

"Oops."__

**And now...**

"Ron, get up." Harry was shaking his red headed friend with one hand and clutching a small journal with the other. "I need your help. Tonks was here."

"Mumf? Harry? Go back to sleep it was only a dream."

"No. No it wasn't. She was here." With a great deal of effort Ron managed to lift his sleepy head off the pillow.

"Where?"

"Er. Well. She's gone again. But she was here and bloody and bruised. But Shacklebolt, he knew all along!" Harry's lips were moving faster than the golden wings of a snitch. "She wasn't drugged. I know because I checked her eyes and they weren't dilated. And then there was a Spotted Irish Banshee. Or was it a Brazilian Spine Hook? And she called me a mutt and hit me with a bag of carrots. But then the Ministry put me on hold so I couldn't tell the others."

"That she called you a mutt?"

"Yes." Harry blinked. "No. That she was here. Right downstairs. I was in her head."

"Sounds more like she was in yours."

"Ron!"

"Harry," Ron was well aware of the fact that his friend hadn't thought about anything else in the past few days. Not for a minute. "When was the last time you got _any_ sleep?"

"What? I don't know? I slept a bit last night. What has that got to do with anything? We have to find her! ...Again."

"Oooo kaay." Ron said slowly. He didn't say or do anything else after that. He just laid there propped up on one elbow for a while and looked like he might suddenly drop out of the waking world again. "She was here."

_"Was that a question or an affirmation?"_ Harry wasn't sure whether Ron believed him. "Yes she was. Now lets go!"

"Alright." Ron sighed before flopping back down and yawning. For a moment Harry thought Ron didn't believe him or was too sleepy to comprehend what was going on. But the other boy didn't close his eyes and fall asleep.

Instead he grudgingly hauled himself out of bed and put on a pair of shoes and a bathrobe. He had fallen asleep in his clothes and didn't need to do much else. "Let's check in the closet and under the bed. But you're going to feel foolish when I prove there are no monsters."

"This isn't a joke."

"Sorry, mate but... well what's all this business about banshees hitting Shacklebolt with carrots?"

"No that was me."

"You hit Shacklebolt with carrots?"

"No. I mean I was the one hit."

"_He_ hit _you_ with..."

"Look that's not the point! That is no where near the point, okay? No banshees! No carrots! Just forget that. You need to help me because she's not making any sense."

"Oooooh." The boy nodded his red head with a great deal of sarcasm. "_She's_ not making any sense."

Harry opened his mouth to protest but then stalled and fluttered his eyes as he thought over what to say. Again he opened and closed his mouth in several attempts to start explaining. This made him look like a gaping fish.

"Huh. Ha huh." Harry dropped his head and chuckled a bit when he finally realized that he sounded like a raving lunatic. "Yeah. I guess I'm not making much sense either, am I? Must be going around."

"Harry." Ron put a hand on his shoulder. "I believe you. Okay? I just don't know what parts I believe. Why don't you sit down and think about it first _then_ tell me what happened. Because, honestly, I'm tempted to think you've gone completely nutter."

Harry didn't sit. He just rubbed his face for what seemed like the hundredth time that morning. "Yeah. No. I can't sit." He took and released a hardy breath. "I got up this morning..."

"Right."

"...and I went downstairs and Tonks walked in."

"You sure?"

"No. It might have been Crookshanks. Yes I'm sure!"

"Alright. No need to get angry."

The boy who lived rolled his eyes impatiently. "Well she was all bruised and dirty and she had bandages. It was like she'd just spent the weekend in hell."

"Go on." At that point Harry realized that he might as well sit since it was going to take a while explain the situation. Ron pulled a blanket over his shoulders and joined him on the cedar chest.

"And it soon became very obvious that she wasn't in her right mind." Harry continued.

"What do you mean by that?"

"She was delirious." He scrunched up his face at the memory. "Kept hallucinating that I was a dragon."

"What kind of dragon?"

Harry flopped a hand on his lap and jerked his head. "Why does that always seem like such an important question?"

"Sorry. Just curious."

"Wait... Actually, Tonks did say something about a dragon that could sense magic."

"Ah ha! Now we're getting somewhere. Or 'The game is afoot!' as Holmes would say."

"Since when do you read Arthur Conan Doyle?"

"He's alright."

"Thought you hated that stuff."

"Getting side tracked here." Ron seemed oddly defensive.

"Right. What was I saying?"

"Something about a dragon that finds you when you sleep."

"Right. Every heard of that?"

Ron just shook his head as he chewed on his nail. "Charlie's the expert." Both boys seemed to ponder this for a while.

"Well it's not much to go on. But then there's this..." Harry was about to pull out the journal Tonks had left him.

"FILTHY HALF-BLOOD LOVERS!!! How dare you disgrace the noble house of Black with this- this- this pathetic excuse...!"

Ron grumbled and rolled his eyes before shouting back. "Oh go blow it out your noble ear already you nasty old hag!" Just then Hermione knocked on the door.

"Harry! Ron! Time to get up now!" She had to shout over the old woman's screeching voice. "Before Fred and George put tabasco sauce in your pancakes or something."

The door flung open and the twins came in with slightly less energy than usual. "Come on, Hermione. Tabasco in the pancakes? What do you take us for amateurs?" Even they looked beat. Crookshanks seemed to be the only frisky one in the whole house. He raced in and jumped into Ron's lap.

Something suddenly occurred to Harry. _"Why hadn't the others gotten back by now?"_

"Ron it's your turn for garbage duty and breakfast." George said.

"In a minute." The younger brother answered.

"Don't try to weasel out of it."

"I said," Ron was trying to speak through gritted teeth. 'I-will-do-it in a minute.'"

"There's something you all should know." Harry began.

"No." Ron cut him off. "We'll talk about it down stairs. Everybody out. Give Harry and I a chance to get dressed." Once the others had gone he turned again to Harry, still holding Crookshanks. "Sorry, mate I don't want to get there hopes up just to tell them she's gone again. Know what I mean?"

"But..."

"It's alright. We'll find her before breakfast is even over. You'll see. Just give me a few minutes." He said heading for the shower. "I'll be out in a tick." He set the cat back down but had a hard time forcing it to stay on the other side of the door as it closed.

_"We don't have time for this."_ Harry's leg started drilling the floor. _"Tonks was already pretty bad when she took off. God knows where she is now. What's she doing? Who's found her?"_

Another more bitter thought hit him. _"Damn Kingsley. Mr. Weasley didn't want Tonks to go on that mission, whatever it was."_

He pulled out the little book that revealed this information to him. _"How did he lose her? Why did he come asking for her when she didn't get home? Was he really that stubborn. Did he not want to tell Arthur Weasley that he was wrong about the mission? Probably not  if he could find her first."_

Harry, still deep in thought, forgot himself and absently reached out to stroke Crookshanks.

HISS!!!

"Ow! Bloody flea ridden...!"

_"Hang on."_ Harry sat there puzzled for a very long time. _"Hermione's cat_." A few things were coming together in his head which only seemed to make this whole mystery even harder to decipher. _"I never said, 'find you when you sleep'. Sherlock Holmes."_

At first these things didn't seem important just odd. But it was something he could just barely overhear downstairs that made the warning bells go off in his head.

_"Was that...? Downstairs, was that...? Ron's voice?"_

(A/N: Dum dum dum! Ominous orchestral music gives way to dramatic organ music.

Will Harry unravel the mystery?

Will Tonks ever be found?

Will any of these characters stop babbling incoherently about dragons and start making sense?!

Tune in next time for another exciting episode of "Weekend Warrior"!)


	6. Suspence

_"Tonks?"_ Harry thought. _"No it couldn't be. She's half out of her mind and badly injured. No way she could pull off disguising herself as Ron."_ He had to sort it all out_. "That couldn't be Ron in the shower now. Crookshanks would have hissed at him like always. Plus he was acting rather out of character. The real Ronald Weasley must be downstairs with the others. But then... who was I just talking to?"_

Harry glared at the bathroom door. _"Whoever it was, they knew something about the dragon without my mentioning it. Oh God."_ He froze. _"What if whoever is in there kidnapped Tonks!"_ Harry got up and carefully slipped out the door without making a sound. His heart was pounding as he mad his way down the hall, all the while keeping an eye on the bedroom. Even as he stood in the doorway of the kitchen he continued to shoot nervous glances over his shoulder.

In the kitchen, Fred, George, Hermione, and a person he now assumed to be the real Ron, were arguing over who would prepare breakfast.

"You said you would do it, Ron. It's your turn."

"I never agreed to swap chores with you, George."

"Yes you did. Just now upstairs."

"Ron." Harry interrupted.

"Hang on a minute, Harry.  " Ron said over his shoulder then turned back to his brother. "I don't know what you're talking about. You'll try anything to get out of one measly task."

"Ron..." Harry thought quickly. "I just want to know when you'll be done with my copy of Sherlock Holmes."

"What are you on about?" Ron asked without giving it much thought. "What book? I don't have anything of yours." Under his breath he added, " I _can_ occasionally but my own things."

"Sherlock Holmes." Harry persisted as he tried to act casual, pouring cereal into a bowl. "His greatest mysteries. We were going to discuss it whengot through , remember?" Now everyone was regarding him strangely.

"Harry... fsh." The boy shook his head dismissively. "You know I don't read that rubbish. Hermione's the one. Maybe she has it."

Fred patted Harry on the back and said, "Haven't quite woken up yet have ya mate?"

Harry let go a heavy sigh as he gripped the muscles behind his collar.

"Tonks..." He stopped himself when he remembered that he heard Ron's voice from upstairs. It wouldn't do to have whoever's up there to hear any of this. He found a drawer with a pen and pad. then he scribbled something down and handed it to Hermione.

"Don't say a word!" It read. "Don't make a sound! There's a stranger in the house." Her eyes went wide then looked to Harry for confirmation. She could tell by the look on his face, it was no joke.

"Better do something, Ron. He's passing notes to your sweetheart." George quipped loudly. Too loud.

"Shut up." Ron blushed

Harry grabbed the note from Hermione and practically mashed it into George's chest to keep him quiet.

"Ow! Hey." The twin was about to say more when Harry mouthed the words, "Read it." He did as ordered while Fred read over his shoulder. The two suddenly became quite an grim.

A creek and thump could be heard upstairs. "He's out." Harry whispered, staring at the ceiling. Any minute the imposter was sure to realize that Harry wasn't there and that his guise had been revealed. Still fixated on the ceiling, he licked his lips and tried to think. _"I can get Ron to hide and act like I never saw him."_

Ron snatched the note unceremoniously away from his brother. "Gor blimey!" He shouted. They all shot him angry looks. He tried to cover. "er... that's the biggest roach I've ever seen." He announced loud enough for the stranger to hear. "Someone kill it."

Only now did Harry realize that he never heard any running water. There were footsteps coming down the stairs. They were close. There was no way to slip Ron out of the room now. "Hide Ron." He whispered urgently.

The stranger stood in the doorway and surveyed the area. He saw Harry sitting down to a bowl of cereal with his back to the door. Fred and George were also seated at the table and appeared to be trading some sort of cards. "Got that one? I've got two." They were mumbling. George had his wand in the same hand he was leaning his chin on lazily. Hermione also had her back to the door as she busied herself looking for pots and pans.

"What's all this shouting about a cockroach?" The stranger asked.

Hermione glanced back at him. "There you are, Ron." She said. "That was only Fred. You know how he is about crawly things."

"Nasty vermin." Fred supported the lie convincingly. It was a good thing that the voices of two brothers sound almost identical even when they are not twins. Only a person who's been around the family a lot can tell the difference from another room.

"Um hum." The stranger grunted in a dubious tone.

"Sorry." Harry distracted him. "Couldn't wait for you. I was getting hungry."

"Thought you were so eager to talk." Turning to Hermione and the twins he added, "Don't you want to know what he was going to say?"

"Harry's already explained about his bad dream." George answered without looking up. Harry gave the fake Ron a conspiring nod as if to remind him that they had agreed not to get any hopes up.

"Well you're out now." Harry got up quickly and went to wash his bowl. "I want to tell you the rest of my dream. Let's go into the other room."

"Just a moment." Fake Ron held up his hand. He started to cross the room in the direction of the pantry.

"What do you need?" Hermione asked blocking him. "Sit down. I'll get it for you."

"No." He said simply while nudging her aside. "That's quite alright." He put a hand on the knob of the pantry door. George gripped his wand tighter.

Hermione suddenly remembered a story by Edgar Allen Poe. It was about a man who had murdered his employer and buried him under the floor boards. When the police had come to investigate, he put a chair on the burial spot and sat on it while he talked to them. But he could still hear the dead man's heart beating like a bass drum in his ears. He thought the police could hear it as well. He thought they were just taunting him pretending not to.

Hermione could swear the pounding in her ears was not her own heart but Ron's. She could swear the stranger was just taunting them by coming downstairs as their friend.

The knob jingled under his touch. The hinges groaned.

"Achoo!" George sneezed into his hand and nearly dropped his wand. Everyone, and I mean every single person in the room,  flinched so hard it was like their insides had been jerked by a port key. The stranger studied George for a moment.

Hermione's blood ran cold and her skin was flooded with a sudden rush of pricks. She tried to control her breathing, the fluttering of her lashes, the sweat beading on her now pale forehead. But it's not easy when your heart starts acting like you've consumed a half dozen krispy kremes and washed it down with three double espressos.

Oh what a person could see if they but altered their perceptions ever so slightly. The false Ron swung open the pantry door. He was greeted with the sight of canned peas and corn and such but no Ron.

"Ron what are you doing?" Harry asked. "You said we were going to talk." Fake Ron stood befuddled. Harry turned and stated to lead him into the next room. The imposter began to follow.

Suddenly he whipped around threw open the doors below the counter. Everyone looked at him slightly shocked. "Th – thought I saw that – that cockroach dash in here."

"Now _you're_ acting crazy Ron." Harry said as he placed a guiding hand on the strangers shoulder and lead him out of the room. Once those two were gone the four remaining occupants of the room heaved a unanimous sigh of relief.

The stranger practically jumped back in. There was an awkward moment. He opened his mouth to explain his behavior but decided against it and just left.

"Is it safe _now?_" Ron pleaded.

"Shh. Shh." Fred waved off the question and went softly to the door. He listened intently until he was satisfied that Harry had distracted the person by bringing up Tonks.

"My hand is cramping." George spoke through his grinding teeth.

"Okay." Fred answered. George lowered his wand and Ron floated down from the ceiling.


	7. The Game Is Afoot!

**Previously on Weekend Warrior:**

_"Achoo!" George sneezed into his hand and nearly dropped his wand..._

_...Oh what a person could see if they but altered their perceptions ever so slightly..._

_..."My hand is cramping." George spoke through his grinding teeth._

_"Okay." Fred answered. George lowered his wand and Ron floated down from the ceiling._

**And now...**

"You nearly dropped me." Ron grumbled under his breath.

"I couldn't help it now could I." George was massaging the muscles of his hand. "Levitating a feather is hard enough."

"Shh. Be quite you two." Fred whispered. He was still listening at the door.

"What are they saying?" Hermione asked.

"I Can't tell. It's just a lot of mumbles."

She was worried. "Perhaps we should go in and make sure he's alright."

"Yeah." Fred's voice was tinged with doubt. "I'm beginning to think that's not such a bad idea. George?"

"Right." His twin agreed to go with.

"I'm coming too." Hermione said.

"No, Mione." Ron was quick to stop her. "You stay here."

"But..."

"Hey I don't want to be alone with a stranger in the house." He smiled weakly. "You can protect me." She couldn't help a tiny smile herself.

"Let's go then." Fred and George disappeared from the doorway.

Upon arriving in the other room Fred and George were surprised to discover only Harry standing there alone. "Where... er... is Ron?" George asked.

"You mean the imposter."

"..." The twins just fidgeted uncomfortably.

"It's alright. It's me Harry. The real Harry." That obviously wasn't good enough. "You gave me the marauders map." They breathed a sigh of relief.

"What happened to... you know."

"I had a suspicion that, whoever that was, he wanted me to tell him where Tonks was." Harry sat down. "Either that or he kidnapped her and just needed find out how much I knew." Harry bit his lip. Or else..." He stopped short but mentally finished. _"Or else he wanted the journal."_

"Or else what?" The twins joined him on the couch.

"Nothing."

Fred was puzzled and so was George for a moment before he spoke up. "What do we have to do to prove that we are who we say we are?"

"Oh come on!" Fred looked back and forth between the other two. "You don't seriously think... But there couldn't be two of them in the house." Now even his own twin was eyeing him suspiciously. "Could there?" His voice cracked.

Before Harry or George could respond Hermione poked her head around the corner. "Alright to come in?" She said. "I used a mirror to peek around the corner."

"It's alright. Come in." Harry answered. "Ron too." Ron and Hermione scooted in as cautious as church mice then took a seat. "Fred and George here were just about to prove that they are in fact Fred and George."

"Goodness." Hermione gasped. "Is that necessary? Harry what's going on? Was that Tonks?"

"No. Of course not." Harry snapped at her.

"It's a valid question." Ron rebuked him defensively.

"Sorry, Hermione. I'm just a little tired and confused myself. But..." He was about to talk about Tonks again and had to stop himself. "Would you please just humor me first? Just do that for a friend without question?"

"What do you want me to do?" She didn't like the way that sounded.

"You botched a potion in second year and it had a certain side affect. What did it do?"

"Harry!" Her eyes darted to Fred and George.

"Please." He requested this one favor patiently.

Hermoine became suddenly fascinated with the folds at the tail of her shirt. "It turned me into a freakish cat-person." Fred and George's eyebrows shot up at the same time and big grins lit up their faces.

"With a tail." Ron added, smiling at the memory.

"Thank you." Harry knew she would have preferred to keep that secret buried. Now it was his turn. "We used a time tuner to rescue Buckbeak and Sirius. He called you the brightest witch of your age." The twins were confused but Hermione nodded. "Ron's already been tested. That just leaves..."

Sigh. "Alright." Fred resigned. "George and I tried to ride a broom without Mum and Dad knowing because we were too young at the time. Anyway I tried to mount it at the same time that I said 'up'." Harry and Ron winced and crossed their legs.

"That was a secret?" George asked.

"Well of course it was. Why would you ask..." Fred's eyes went wide. "Who did you tell?!"

"I don't know. Loads of people. I thought everyone knew by now."

Hermione was nodding. "You told me."

"I haven't told anyone you wet the bed till you were eight." George offered. "Why don't you use that?"

Fred was becoming irate. "Because you just said it you idiot!"

"Hey don't call me an idiot! I was only trying to help!"

"That's fine! That's fine!" Harry put his hands up. "I think we can safely assume that the two of you are indeed Fred and George."

"Great!" Ron threw up his hands as well. "Now would someone please explain to me why someone, who may or may not be Tonks, is pretending to be me and why I had to hide on the ceiling."

"And where she's been?" Hermione continued for him. "Why did she turn up now? Shouldn't we notify the others at the Ministry?"

"I told you." Harry was getting defensive again. "That wasn't Tonks. It couldn't have been. She was in no condition to pull something like that off."

"Condition?" George asked. "What condition?"

"Yeah." Said Fred. "And how did you get rid of that..." He waved a hand over his face. "The other guy?"

"Well, like I was saying..." Harry repeated himself for the sake of Ron and Hermione who came in late. "He either wanted me to tell him where Tonks was or he himself had kidnapped her and wanted to know how much I knew about it. Understand?"

Everyone was leaning toward Harry and _trying_ to understand. "So I lied and told him that she mentioned something about going to Hogsmead. He said I should wait here incase she came back and then took off."

"But..." Ron voiced the question they were all thinking. "That means _you did_ speak to her then? When was this? She was here?"

Harry slowly leaned back into his chair. Then, just as slowly, he let his head fall on the back rest so that he was now staring at the ceiling. He took his time contemplating what they knew so far, what he knew, and how much he should tell. "Yes." He finally answered. "I woke up early this morning because I couldn't sleep..."

A few minutes later. "...and then I heard Ron's voice downstairs and I knew something was wrong." The room was silent for a few beats. "That's it. The rest you know." More silence.

"Right." Hermione flopped her hands down on her lap and looked suddenly determined. "We have to think quickly. That imposter must have surely realized by now that Tonks isn't at Hogsmead."

"If he has kidnapped her." Harry said hanging his head. "Then I've just made a huge mistake in letting him go." No one knew what to say to that.

"Well that's..." Ron started. "Let's assume for the moment that he didn't."

"Yeah." Said Fred. "I don't think he would have stuck around if he had."

"Harry are you sure?" Hermione took a chance in asking. Harry looked like he knew what she meant and might explode if she finished. "Well I'm only asking because metamorphs are rare. Tonks is the only one I've ever met."

"I don't know I..." He was shaking his head. He wanted to explain but he couldn't put a finger on it himself. "I just know it wasn't her."

"Harry." George was sort of wincing a little as though he didn't want to break it to him. "You do realize that we have anti-intruder charms in place all over the house. Only certain people are allowed in. Even if they could get in we'd know about it. The thing of it is just, well only certain people are cleared to enter. The Weasley's, Hermione, you, Lupin and Tonks."

Harry did know. He just hadn't thought of that. "That makes no sense." Was all he had to say. "That makes no sense at all. Why would Tonks do that?" He shook his head again. "No. She wouldn't. She couldn't. Why?"

"Alright then," Ron began. "We'll assume it wasn't her for now. But that just opens up more questions."

"I for one want to know why no one's gotten back from the Ministry." Said Fred. "Even if they hadn't been given Harry's message they should be back by now. And, come to think of it, that imposter would be back by now as well. I Guess he thought you just didn't know where she is."

"Hold that thought!" Hermione said as she dashed to the kitchen and came back with the pen and pad that was used earlier. She started scribbling down notes. "We need to get organized. We have to adopt a systematic approach to this mystery. Now Harry let's get back to the journal, seeing as that's the clue that hasn't been examined completely."

"No wait!" Ron jumped up and pointed at Harry. He appeared to have had a revelation. "You asked the Ministry to send someone over!"

"Yeah. I wasn't sure they heard though. Why?"

"You said it was an emergency!"

"Of course. What are you getting at?"

Ron dropped his hand and beamed brightly as he looked around at the others. "Well don't you see?" They did not but he thought it was obvious. "Intruder charms are disabled for Ministry officials if it's an emergency!" Everyone was shocked. First because they all realized it was true and second because Ron had figured it out before Hermione.

"Yes! Way to go, Ron." Harry was thrilled to have a major part of the evidence against Tonks dismissed. Ron was just thrilled.

"But that would mean..." Hermione pondered once the initial shock had passed.

"If it's not Tonks..." Said George.

"It would be someone from the Ministry." Fred completed the thought. The muscle in Harry's jaw began to twitch.

_"Shacklebolt."_ He thought. _"But how could he? Even if he had the time to mix a polyjuice potion, his voice..."_

"His voice!" Harry shouted aloud. He looked to the others. "You can't reproduce someone's voice with a polyjuice potion. I know. Ron and I used it once and we couldn't disguise the voices just right." His eyes lit up knowingly. "And neither could Tonks."

"How do you know that?" Fred had to ask because he never really noticed. Neither had Harry until just now.

"I saw it in the journal. Before she left for work that day she was trying to convince your father that she could impersonate an older man. But the voice wasn't right. She had to grunt to cover. The um the other guy had the voice dead on. I would have sworn it was Ron."

"Then how...?" Hermione dropped her head into the same hand that held the pen. "How could anyone get it right?" No one knew the answer to that. Still not looking up she mumbled grimly, "Harry I think you'd better leave." Finally Hermoine raised her head and locked eyes with him. "The only way to find her now is to figure out what happened five days ago. And you can't stay here to do that. You need to find a safe place before _anyone_ comes back from the Ministry."

"Will you all be safe if they do?"

Fred, George, Hermione, and Ron exchanged a conversation without a single word needing to be said. "No."


End file.
